Actual color combat footage of the Battle of Midway, shot with virtually no advance notice by John Ford and two other Navy cameramen.

Ford was wounded during the filming. Some of the explosions were so close to the camera that the film jumped off the sprockets.

To those who were disappointed by this film or think it just propaganda: The point of this film is not to convince Americans that the war was a good idea. No one in the United State needed convincing of that after Pearl Harbor and the Philippines.

This was the first major American victory of the Pacific War, and one of the greatest and most decisive naval battles of all time, and by the time the film was released the magnitude of the Japanese defeat was well known. It was also the case the most Americans either knew someone who has fought at Midway, or they indirectly knew of someone there.

This film gave Americans their first real look at the Pacific War, and it recorded one of the few truly seismically decisive naval victories in recorded history -- alongside Trafalgar, Battle of the Nile, Yamen, Hellespont. There aren't many.

If you don't want to hear Henry Fonda and Jane Darwell chat, turn down the sound. The pictures are amazing.

John Ford was on the spot to record this dramatic event.
The Battle of Midway was the beginning of the end for Japan. Along with Guadalcanal, and New Guinea, Japan was stopped and the long road to victory was begun. Japan's history since the surrender in 1945, shows a good way to restoring Japan's place in the world.

To judge this film compared to current technology is just absolutely, positively, really, quite honestly, well.., lets just say STUPID!!! What are you one star nincompoop's thinking?? Did you notice they were smoking? Hint: it's a dated film from the last century! Knock, Knock, hello, light's on, but no one's home! Non compos mantis! That means you are not of sound mind and hence not competent to review this Historic film. I loved it, and you will never find a movie director better than John Ford. Not to mention a limited "wartime" budget, and mostly made of 16 mm film of actual real wartime footage. You probably don't now the date Pearl Harbor was bombed! P.S. blame the "Tojo" mistake on Google. Do a search on google for Tojo and they call him "Emperor." Not the film's error.

Having served on Midway Island as Communication Officer of the NAVALCOMMUNICATION UNIT MIDWAY ISLAND from 1965-1966, I found this movie both fascinating and accurate. It is a great movie and a record of Americas heroic role in the region.

What Cmdr. Ford did was nothing short of sheer, unadulterated bravery. Few - if any - of the scenes in this film were staged. Much of it is actual combat footage filmed on the Midway Atoll.

The narration that might seem silly to many of us now was in response to a worried and nervous American people during those dark and dismal early months of the Pacific war.

Our navy won the battle, but at a terrible cost. Ford was so moved by the selfless sacrifice of the pilots and aircrew of Torpedo Squadron 8 he created a cinematic tribute to their heroism.

Amateur filmmakers presuming an aptitude in documentary film making, please read a teeny bit of history first so you know the difference between Japan's prime minister & her emperor

Sorry chaps, but I feel obliged to repeat the review I gave this after buying the DVD from Amazon. It has taken me quite a while to confirm that my stunningly poor purchase was indeed the same material to be held in such high esteem. I can only imagine that the names "John Ford" and "Henry Fonda" have blinded most observers to the inescapable ineptitude of this home movie. Of course, when I urged people not to buy this , I had no idea you could watch it for free - barely a bargain.

This is what you will find on Amazon:

1 Review
5 star: (0)
4 star: (0)
3 star: (0)
2 star: (0)
1 star: (1)


Average Customer Review
1.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)


Share your thoughts with other customers:
Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars

"Do not buy this!", 19 Jan 2008
By Colin Brown "JCB" (Pencaitland, Scotland) - See all my reviews

If you didn't know much about Midway before watching this, you won't be any the wiser afterwards. My initial disappointment at the running time of 20 minutes turned to relief once it started and it felt like a reprieve that it lasted only 18 minutes. This consists of a collection of footage shot on Midway Island at the time of the attack with a dreadful soundtrack and trite dialogue. It is purely propaganda and on those grounds alone it is moderately interesting.

If you have any friends who like to bore the pants off you with their holiday videos, invite them round and show them this.

First, I applaud downwind... for his review and comments. There is a valid point to be made about viewing a film through the lens of the sensibilities prevailing at the time it was made/released. Otherwise, it is impossible to understand, much less judge, the quality of the film. Additionally, by doing this, one gains valuable insight into the past - for good or for ill.

With that said, some films simply do not age well in the sense that they lack the timelessness that makes them relatable to the present. As downwind... said, this film maintains that link to the present when one considers the situation of those fighting today in Afghanistan and Iraq and the loved ones they've left back home. Truly, such concepts are timeless and never irrelevant.

In sum, this film was well made by brave combat cameramen dodging real bombs and bullets. Once one has a grasp of the backstory (well stated by downwind..., i.e. the fear of Japanese invasion of the West Coast, the triumph of halting the enemy advance, etc.), the viewer can understand this film as the triumph that it was.

People writing about old films they don't understand would do well to inform themselves about the times and circumstances under which the films were produced.

While personally operating a hand-held 16mm camera for this film, its director, John Ford, a Commander in the Navy reserve serving on temporary duty at Midway Atoll at the time, risked enemy fire to get his footage and was wounded by shrapnel during the Japanese air attack. He received the Purple Heart for the wound, as all military wounded in action do, but later was awarded the Legion of Merit for his actions during the battle. It’s is the highest award given for non-combat performance, just so you'll know. John Ford was too busy shooting film and getting shot at to stage anything during the battle of Midway.

As for the narration, yes it can sound anachronistic and oddly funny these days—if you don’t understand why they are talking that way. Believe me, the Jane Darwell narration speaks for mothers and grandmothers then and now. Do you not have family or friends or neighbors who have a son or daughter serving in Afghanistan or Iraq? How do they feel about it? It’s pretty rough for them, I’m sure. If you don’t what that’s like, then just consider what it’s like to have the lives of your loved ones at risk. Then listen again to Jane Darwell’s narration in this film. I assure you, the angst of mothers and grandmothers with children in harm’s way has not changed one iota since World War II.

Consider too the mood of the nation when this film was made 65 years ago. My father was 22 then. He told me everyone in the country was expecting a Japanese invasion of California at any moment. There was great anxiety the United States could even defend itself to a draw, let alone win the war.

This battle changed all that in a few minutes’ time. It snapped, literally, Japan's ability to mount a large-scale air attack. The west coast was safe for the moment, the first time that could be said since the Pearl Harbor sneak attack of almost exactly six anxious months before. As it turned out, the Battle of Midway was the high water mark of Japan’s efforts in all of World War II, but that wasn’t known then. There were over three more years of fighting left.

The American people of that time only knew that Japan had been stopped at Midway, that its “run of the table” was over, and that the outnumbered and outgunned U.S. Navy had destroyed the very same Japanese aircraft carriers, Soryu, Hiryu, Akagi, and Kaga, that had brought the attack to Pearl Harbor. That's why the ending titles were drawn through with red paint, to suggest the bloody repayment of a debt. It released deeply held fear and anger about the war, and was tremendously liberating at the time, as well as deeply and spiritually rewarding. The concept of “whose side is God on?” was very much a part of those times, believe it or not.

Finally, for what its worth, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded this film the Oscar for Best Documentary, 1942. That in itself should tell you the mood of the country at the time, as strange and unfamiliar and odd as God-fearing patriotism seems to some people today.

Like all great art, John Ford's "Battle of Midway" is an indicator of the time and place from which it came, and mirrors the society that produced it.

John Ford Is The Director!....The Producer Is The U.S. Government....AKA We The Taxpayer's!....P.S. Ford Was Known To Stage Sequences So Beware!

This battle film was obviously made for the home front, as a propaganda piece. Itâs in color, for one thing, which was unusual for the period. And it features the voice over of a little old lady, who comments on the soldiers periodically, mainly telling us how she remembered them as little boys. These sequences are pretty campy today. Other narration is kept to a minimum, so we can take in the striking images of death and destruction. You really get a feel in this film that the cameraman was in mortal danger. The ending is a great piece of propaganda, featuring title cards that tell battle statistics, which are then painted over by a hand wielding a huge paintbrush dripping with red paint. This film is quite fun to watch, and is so well made you might find yourself getting caught up in the fighting spirit after awhile.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.

a